What a tryout decides, and what it does not
A tryout decides one thing: which roster, at which level, for one season. It is a placement decision made on a particular afternoon in a particular gym, by people watching a grade band of players they mostly do not know yet.
It is worth saying plainly because families often read it as a verdict on a child. Programs group by grade, run drills and scrimmages, and fill a set number of spots. Asphalt Green describes its own process as evaluating "fundamental skills, game sense, and athletic ability through a series of drills, scrimmages, and fitness tests." That is a snapshot, and rosters change between seasons.
When tryouts happen
The calendar is tighter than most families expect. Tryouts cluster in late summer for a season that has already started by the time school settles.
| Program | Grades or ages | Published timing |
|---|---|---|
| Asphalt Green, Battery Park City | 3rd grade through high school | Tryouts Sept 14 to 18, 2026, evenings, separate boys and girls sessions |
| Metro United, a partnered program of Fastbreak Sports, Basketball Stars of New York and Downtown Wolves | 6th to 9th grade | Season Sept 21 to Mar 7, placement by invitation or tryout request only |
| East Side Escalades, Manhattan | Ages 8 to 17 | AAU teams plus skills clinics, by contact with the program director |
Those are the programs' own published details, retrieved in August 2026. Dates move, so confirm with the program before you plan around one. Note also that plenty of programs marketed to New York families sit outside the five boroughs. Atlantic Sharks, for one example, holds its tryouts in New Rochelle. Ask where practices are actually held, not just where the website says the program is from.
The three ways programs select, and why it matters
This is the part that surprises people, and it changes what you should be doing in August.
- Open registration. You sign up for the tryout and attend. Asphalt Green runs this way, with online registration for its September sessions.
- Invitation or request only. There is no open tryout to register for. Metro United states it directly: "Team placement is by invitation or tryout request only." If you wait for a public tryout announcement, there will not be one.
- Rolling, through the program. No fixed tryout window published at all. Escalades directs interested families to its program director.
Two of those three require you to make contact first. That is the practical takeaway: if your child wants to play travel basketball next season, the move in August is to email programs directly rather than watch for a posted date.
The number that arrives after you make the team
Selection and cost are separate conversations, and the second one usually happens after a family is emotionally committed. It is better to know the figure going in.
That is one published New York area number for one grade band, and it lands inside the range we documented from national data: $4,000 to $8,000 per player per year for AAU basketball, before heavy travel. The full breakdown of team fees, hotels, flights, gear and tournament admission, with its sources, is on our how much does AAU basketball cost page.
Most programs do not publish a number at all. That is not necessarily a bad sign, but it does mean the question is yours to ask.
What to ask before the roster is posted
Ask these at the tryout or in the first email, while you still have room to decide. Answers in writing are worth more than answers in a gym doorway.
- How are spots decided, and when will we hear? A program that cannot say when rosters go out often cannot say how they are set either.
- Where do practices actually happen, and how often? Gym location drives your whole week more than almost anything else.
- What is the all in number for the season? Team fee plus expected travel, gear and admissions, in writing.
- How many overnight events, and does the circuit require hotel blocks? Several circuits do, which removes the option of driving home.
- What happens if my child does not make the top team? Ask whether there is a second team, and whether the fee is the same.
- What happens if we leave midseason? Refund policy, in writing.
Choosing between programs on everything besides money and dates? The companion guide covers it: how to choose an AAU program in NYC.
How NYC Honor fits into this
NYC Honor Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity. It runs elite teams on the MADE Hoops circuit, and it charges players nothing to play: no team fees. In its first season the program reached the MADE Hoops 17U national championship game in Baltimore.
The cost of a season does not disappear because a family is not paying it. It is carried by donors and sponsors instead. If you want to see exactly what that covers, read how the charity works, or fund a season.
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Sources
- Asphalt Green, AG Basketball tryouts page, asphaltgreen.org, retrieved August 2026. Fall 2026 tryout dates, grade bands and evaluation description.
- Metro United AAU/Travel Basketball, basketballstars.com, retrieved August 2026. Grades, season dates, published cost and selection method.
- East Side Escalades, escaladesnyc.org, retrieved August 2026. Ages served and Manhattan neighborhoods.
- Atlantic Sharks AAU Basketball, atlanticsharksbasketball.com, retrieved August 2026. Tryout location, cited here only to make the point about programs outside the five boroughs.
- Cost ranges and their sources are documented on our AAU cost page.